PIGS FOR PROFIT

Taranaki Daily News, 6 October 1934, Page 24 (Supplement)

PIGS FOR PROFIT

MILK FOR FATTENING SYSTEMATIC FEEDING NEEDS. Pig husbandry is playing a very important part in the activities of the dairy farmer, who now realises that if he is to make ends meet during the period of low prices for primary produce he must turn to account every sideline of the industry. Pigs properly cared for have proved to be easily the farmer’s most profitable sideline. In their feeding milk plays a most important part, and that is where the profit in keeping pigs on a systematic basis comes in. Pigs provide a profitable outlet for the disposal of surplus skim milk or whey, from which a good return is obtained. In some cases farmers with large herds of cows have added over 2d per pound butterfat to their annual returns through keeping pigs as a sideline. The great value of milk for pigs (declares H. R. Davidson in the Farmer and Stockbreeder) is closely associated with the type of stomach and digestive organs, which are almost exactly the same as those of a human being. In nature the pig’s diet is a mixed one, but the standard type of food fed to pigs under domestic control consists of grains and the meals made from them. These happen to be very deficient in protein and lime, which the omnivorous animal would obtain from the consumption of small wild animals. In milk it so happens that there is just exactlj? what the pig needs to supplement its ration of grain. The protein is not only high in amount, but is both easily digested and of the type to supply just what is wanted to such a rapidly growing animal. HARD WHITE FAT. The carbohydrate in milk is in the form of sugar, which has the reverse effect as such starchy feeds as maize, and produces a hard white instead of a soft yellow fat. Milk for pigs should preferably have the cream removed from it. But even if the whole milk is fed, the butterfat has a high feeding value without having much deleterious effect on the fat of the carcase. Finally, the minerals in milk are particularly valuable for their quality and the ease with which they are digested. With such valuable supplementary feed as milk, therefore, it is important that the best possible use be made of it Often, however, the supply is irregular, and it is perhaps for this reason that milk has not the same reputation elsewhere as in Denmark, where a definite proportion of milk can be fed all the time. < ■ , Where milk is' fed in large quantities for a short time and then withheld all the advantages are lost. Treatment of this kind, for one thing, leads to digestive disturbances, causing scouring or constipation, and it also interferes seriously with the appetite of the pigs. It is fortunate that sour milk is of equal or greater value than sweet milk because this permits of it being held for some time and issued out to the stock in regular amounts. Even if skim or separated’ milk is available in perfectly fresh condition, it is usually advisable to feed it soured. Otherwise, if milk were to be fed sour even one day in a fortnight the change would lead to trouble. In addition it is probable that the soured milk is more easily digested. EXPERIENCE OF DENMARK Considering, however, how milk can best be used by the small or medium producer, we might do worse than examine the experience of Denmark. With a very considerably amount of separated milk and whey to deal with' the Danes have spent a good deal of thought in arriving at the best proportions to use in a mixed ration. Naturally, methods vary slightly, but, speaking generally, the proportions of meal to milk which have been found most satisfactory have been: From weaning to 1001 b live weight, 2 parts milk to 1 part meal; from 1001 b to 1401 b live weight, 1J parts milk to 1 part meal; from 1401 b to 2001 b live weight, 1 part milk to 1 part meal. What interests me most is that the total amount of milk is standardised at approximately the same amount —6£lb a head a day—while the meal ration rises as the pigs get heavier. Almost exactly the same arrangement prevails with the feeding of potatoes in Germany, where a small fixed amount of grain and protein supplement is fed, while the amount of boiled potatoes is increased according to the appetite of the pigs, thus automatically balancing the ration all the way through. In the case of milk one could feed just over half a gallon per head per day, and allow increasing amounts of a simple meal ration as the appetite increased. With the above amounts of milk fed the food is rather too dry to mix easily and so a .certain amount of water can be added, but this is best restricted to a minimum.

“In short,” concludes the writer, “my advice in connection with milk is as follows: Only feed in when you can guarantee the supply for some time. Always, if possible, have it pasteurised or boiled while it is sweet, but do not feed until it is sour. For young pigs feed two parts of milk to one of meal, altering this for finishing pigs to equal parts of both. When these main .points are kept in mind, milk can be one of the most useful feeds for pigs.”